Our Dieciocho

Since we were unable to be in Chile for the dieciocho (translated eighteenth for the 18th of September which is like our 4th of July) for an authentic celebration we did our best as a family to make the day special and come up with a few fun Chilean things to do. So we turned up the 'Huasos Quincheros', got to work, and had a blast and everybody participated in one way or another.

The hardest thing was the food - finding recipes, preparing the food, cooking it....Just because I grew up in Chile and know what the food tastes like doesn't mean I know how to make it=) But I can follow a recipe with the best of 'em!

So here we go with the empanadas....cup 1 of flour out of the 10 I used yesterday~
Preparing the dough~Rolling out the empanadas~

Sealing them after adding the chunk of cheese~

And then those that were fried along with those waiting their turn~

I also made up a couple salads, one was de choclo and one de tomate that required the tomatoes being peeled so I recruited some "empleados minimo" and put them to work~The sopaipillas were quite as involved as well and Monica was a huge help getting those cut and ready to fry. I knew even while mixing up the recipe that it wasn't just what I was looking for but they turned out alright just the same.

Zachery helped get the table ready and with our Chilean napkins (thanks, Aunt Carol)~Chilean napkin holder~ And our Chilean wooden flowers~

And somewhat authentic dress~We sat down to a typical meal that was probably duplicated all over the country yesterday in celebration! The Fourth simply pales in comparison as the celebration of independence in Chile is a month long party of good food, time with family, drinking chicha, lots of asadas, special programs at the local schools, and on and on!

And we got to see the cueca (or a version thereof) after all! While we were preparing everything Alana and Jesse did their part by entertaining us! It was a moment I will cherish forever - so cute!

Feliz Dieciocho!